


throw an indistinct light upon the face of the deep (the perfect silence of the sea)

by superchick67



Category: Puff the Magic Dragon (Song)
Genre: F/M, High School Reunions, i have no explanation for this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-02
Updated: 2016-07-02
Packaged: 2018-07-19 15:09:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7366759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superchick67/pseuds/superchick67
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Jackie Paper isn't so little any more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	throw an indistinct light upon the face of the deep (the perfect silence of the sea)

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said, I have no excuse for this. Blame the Hamilton Challenge (which I'm failing at anyway, so, whatever) and my mom, for singing the song to my little brother the night before I wrote this. Title is from Richard Henry Dana's "Two Years Before the Mast".

Little Jackie Paper isn't so little any more.

* * *

He met Amelia in high school.

Well.

Not  _ in _ high school, per se. At a high school reunion.

Jackie had played baseball in high school. He didn't terribly enjoy the game, but there hadn't been any kids in his neighborhood since he was two or three, and he needed something to do with his time. Being on a sports team didn't make him instantly popular like it does in the movies, but that was okay. He preferred it that way.

* * *

Jackie dated a girl, Stacy, for three months in freshman year of college. She was his first relationship, serious or otherwise. She made him buy nicer shoes and told him that he should really start asking to be called "Jack".

"’Jackie’ is just so immature," she would often say. Eventually she left him for his roommate, Brady. Jackie didn't harbor any malicious feelings. Last he heard, Stacy and "It's Brandon, now" had eloped and moved to Iowa.

Jackie graduated from his city college/state university with a bachelor's degree in engineering. He had a little above average grades, nothing stellar except for his 97 in his freshman Calculus class. He searched for a while before he interned at a construction company. The bosses of the engineering department were a handsome couple, a Mr. and Mrs. Roger and Cynthia Tomlin. They were generous employers, and Jackie was soon hired on as a full time employee. He still occasionally brought Mr. Tomlin his coffee.

Before he knew it, five years had come and gone, and Jackie was Assistant Head of Engineering. He liked his job. He designed bridges, most of the time. He had never built a bad bridge.

* * *

Six months later, Mrs. Tomlin had accused Mr. Tomlin of cheating on her with Sonya, their babysitter, and she left for California with their two year old baby. Mr. Tomlin was distraught; he loved his wife, and along with the emotional duress, there was more work to be done than ever. Jackie managed to stop him from hastily retiring; in gratefulness and in necessity, Mr. Tomlin promoted Jackie.

So Jackie now found himself Co-Head of Engineering at age 27. When a bright pink flyer arrived at his house about a high school reunion, it did not take much deliberation before he decided to go.

* * *

A woman with a name tag reading "Shelby" greeted Jackie at the door. She didn't recognize him, but he had expected as such. After he told her his name she pretended to remember him, but he could tell she was faking.

Inside the building, crowds of people in their late 20s stood around talking with music in the background, sipping from clear plastic cups. Not many people recognized him, but he didn't see any familiar faces either.

Jackie mingled like he was supposed to and tried to look like he was listening intently to woeful tales of breakups and excuses for unemployment, offering an occasional authentic "Congratulations!" to news of (happy) marriage.

Someone named Emily who claimed they had been friends back in school trotted over to Jackie with a girl in hand. "This is Amelia," she squealed. "You two were in English together! Oh, isn't this so exciting? I can't believe it's been ten years! Well, anyway, I have to go say hi to Rochelle. Rochelle! Honey!" she waved her hand and bounced over to a woman with shoulder length hair and too much makeup.

Jackie turned back to the girl Emily had brought over. He didn't remember her, but she was not very memorable. She had a big nose and even bigger eyes, and her hair was tied tightly to her head in a small bun at the base of her neck.

Over the course of a few minutes it transpired that while they had the same English teacher senior year, it was not the same period. They talked about the weather and about hiking, but neither of them had an acute interest in either, so the conversation fell flat very soon. They were both silent as they listened to the hum of other people's conversations and sheets of rain slapping against the windows.

Jackie tugged at his hair. It was getting close to being time for a haircut.

Emily came bounding back. Her eyeliner was slightly smudged in one corner. "I never asked, Jeremy-"

"It's Jackie." It was right on his name tag.

"-what do you do for a living? Remy wanted to know." she whispered the last part conspiratorially and flicked her eyes back over her shoulder. A pretty woman with an afro glanced at him and visibly giggled.

He told Emily his position. She looked shocked. 

"Who'd you have to kill to get that?" she wondered aloud. "You're gonna have every single lady in this place comin' after you!" She poked him in the chest lightly and scurried away. 

Amelia was now looking at him intently.

"Do I have something on my face?" he asked as a joke, but he scrubbed at his cheek anyway.

"My brother was an engineer," she said thoughtfully.

They stood for another minute of silence, but this one was more expectant than awkward.

Jackie was just opening his mouth to ask her out when she interrupted him. "Have you been to that Chinese place down the street? They have good Kung Pao chicken."

* * *

They go to the Chinese place. The chicken is mediocre.

* * *

Jackie meets her parents. They immediately take a liking to him, and he sees it as a stamp of approval. A romantic promotion, if you will. Jackie feels more at home with Amelia than he has in years. He feels alive, like he is floating, bobbing gently on the bow of a ship sailing through calm waters, a warm presence by his side. He feels like he has found something he hadn't known was missing for a long time.

* * *

He buys her a thin ring crusted with small diamonds. She says yes.

* * *

She's wrapped up in his arms two months later when she tells him she's pregnant, but doesn't want to know the sex of the baby. He does, for no reason other than that he's never been able to handle curiosity well, not since he was a kid. He promises not to tell her and almost breaks the promise, twice, but he doesn't.

* * *

He stands over little Sophie's crib, singing to her softly. She has thin black hair, like he does, and her tiny fingers are always gripping something. He holds Sophie and sings to her, and when she gets a little older he'll show her little fingers how to fold a captain’s hat and hold a sword and sail across the ocean with a dragon by her side.

But for now, he just sings.

* * *

fin.


End file.
